Potter's Side
by CrazySockGirl
Summary: Draco Hides in an abandoned classroom after Cedric's death. His father was thrilled that the Dark Lord was back. Draco wasn't sure whether he even believed in blood anymore. Can an eccentric Hufflepuff shed some light on the light side of Draco. And can Draco even come to terms with the fact he might just want to be on the Potter's side this war around. Draco/OC


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or there would be a very different Epilogue.  
**

He had found this out-of-the-way and unused classroom in second year. It was dusty and cold and empty. One wall was composed up of windows, filtering the moonlight through them, making the room feel grey. Draco sat by one of the windows with his knees drawn to his chest. His puffy silver eyes stared out at the black lake numbly, as if he wasn't even seeing it. If what Potter had said was true and Voldemort was back . . . but Voldemort had been dead for thirteen years. Still, Draco knew deep down that Potter, Potter wouldn't lie. And Cedric. No one could deny that Cedric was dead.

His father would be thrilled. His father would want him to receive the dark mark as soon as possible. Last year, Draco wouldn't have even hesitated, he would have been happy to serve the Dark Lord. Now, though, he wasn't so sure. He had changed his opinions. Grown up. It was something Dumbledore had said last year. That if Purebloods were superior, why did Granger get better marks. And Dumbledore had been right. And even if Draco hadn't agreed at first, the more he thought about it, the more conflicted he had been. It had led to him going to the library to do some independent research. The more research he had done, the more thinking he had done, the more conflicted he had become. There was no proof that blood purity meant anything, in fact, it looked almost like a hindrance.

Draco had come to Hogwarts thinking he was of a superior make. However, instead of the popularity he had expected, he was almost shunned. He was lonely now. All of his allies, he couldn't truly call them friends, were on the side of the dark lord. Asking questions about whether their way of thinking was correct would most certainly get back to his parents. His parents had raised him to think this way. They had groomed him to believe in what they did, but Draco saw what the first war had done to them. They had fought on the side that lost. They were barely tolerated in society. Draco also knew that they had done horrid things during the war. Unspeakable things. Like torturing and killing people. Draco was almost fifteen, he didn't want to be a murder. He didn't want to use an unspeakable curse. He wanted to have a girlfriend and play Quidditch. But to tell his parents that would be a death sentence. To say anything to anyone would be a death sentence.

The door to the abandoned classroom swung open and shut just as fast. Draco jumped as it closed and turned to look at the person leaning against it. The girl was in his year, he knew her from the trip back home on the Hogwarts express after winter holidays. He had sat in her compartment to be away from Crabbe and Goyle, and Pansy. He drew a blank on her name. She was wearing her Hufflepuff uniform. Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail-braid thingy. Her hazel eyes scanned the room before stopping at him. She put a pale hand to her mouth as she took his appearance in. Draco's eyes were red and puffy from crying and there were tear stains on his cheeks. Draco watched her as she hesitated, trying to decide whether to stay in the room with the cold and cruel Slytherin Prince or to risk going out to face whatever it was she had run from.

"Go away." Draco tried to make his voice sound harsh and threatening to make her flee, but his voice came out raw and quivering, like a confused little boy. He turned his head back to the window, hoping that the words had done their job, but they had the opposite effect as the girl stepped closer. Draco looked down at her feet as she walked closer. She wasn't wearing shoes, he noticed, just socks with a complicated pattern and jarring neon colors.

"No." The girl's voice was soft, but firm, and she looked directly into his eyes. Draco felt like she could see right through him, granted, in this state, she probably could."I won't."

"Why not?" Draco could hear his voice cracking.

"Because," She took another step forward, so she was standing right in front of him. " I don't think that you're as bad as people say you are. I shared a compartment with you for eight hours and I'm fine." She hesitated, before taking a seat next to him." Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"You wouldn't understand." Draco sneered. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Try me." she told him. He hurrumped. "Look, Draco, everybody goes through difficult times. Just because I'm not in whatever situation you are does not mean that I can help. Sometimes all you need is for someone to listen to you."

"I don't need anything from anybody."

"Okay." The girl shrugged her shoulders and pulled out her wand. Draco shied away from it and she laughed."Relax, I'm conjuring a blanket, you're shivering" Draco looked away, he hadn't even realized that he was cold until she said so. Suddenly his shoulders were blanketed in warmth. The girl had placed a thick grey blanket around his shoulders.

"Thanks." He mumbled. The girl just smiled. They stayed there for a while, the girl sitting cross legged next to Draco, who was trying not to stare at the odd entity next to him. Eventually, it was him that broke the silence.

" I don't want Voldemort to be back, but Potter -"

"Harry, you mean."

"But Potter wouldn't lie about that. He's too goody goody. I'll bet he was telling the truth, the whole time and he never even put his name in the goblet." The girl next to him hummed in agreement. "I've just been taught for so long that Potter is a bad person. I'm scared now, though, because Potter's on the side I want to be on, and my family's on the other side. I don't want the dark mark anymore. I don't want to be a Death Eater and kill and torture people. You heard about Longbottom's folks, right? I couldn't do that to anybody, 'especially not people with a kid. My father's gonna want me to get the mark as soon as Hogwarts lets out. My mother . . . She wouldn't dare to disagree. If I become a death eater, I'm a monster, if I fight against them, my whole family is in danger. I just don't believe in blood anything anymore. I haven't even used the word mudblood in four months, not even to Granger."

"Hermione."

"Whatever. What am I supposed to do?" Draco shook, feeling himself get more and more worked up. Wasn't this supposed to help him? He only felt worse. The girl leaned into Draco, as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head to her shoulder. Normally, Draco would have pushed her away immediately, for he hated physical contact, but this time he let her hold him. They stayed like that for a while, the girl rubbing Draco's back as his allergies made his eyes water.

"My mom always told me that you don't get to choose your family, you don't get to choose your situation, you don't get to choose the obstacles that life throws in your way, but you do get to choose how to deal with what you're given. Draco, if you don't want to be a Death Eater, don't be a Death Eater. Your family, they've chosen their poison, now they have to drink it and hope it doesn't kill them. They've made their alliances and Dug their graves. You can't change someone who isn't willing to change. Someday, you're going to have to do things for your benefit. If you don't want to take their path, well . . . There's a Muggle saying: If you love something, let it go, if it doesn't come back it was never yours to begin with. Draco, they've lived their lives, you have a future ahead of you and you need to decide what you want it to look like. People will judge your choices every single day of your life, but you have to ignore it Draco. It's your life and it's your choice and nobody can make that choice for you. It's never too late. All you have to do is try to believe. Because Draco, if you don't believe in what you're fighting for, it won't matter what side you're on." She told him, gaining speed and confidence, Draco looked at her as she spoke, her eyes passionate and caring.

"And if I choose Potter's side? How will I know they'll even let me?"

"It's not just Potter's side you know. It's everyone who doesn't believe that what the Dark Lord wants is right." She told him. " It's the side of the people who believe that everybody deserves a chance."

"So they'll give me a chance?"

"Of course. You'll have to prove yourself and it will be hard, but you can do it." The girl touched his shoulder." I know you can."

"If I pick the light side, I won't be seeing my family again unless we're in battle, will I?" She looked at him and shook her head.

"No." She whispered, getting up. He watched her head towards the door.

"So if I pick the light side and choose to fight next to Potter and his friends -"

"I'll be there waiting for you." And with that, the girl opened the door, glancing around before slipping into the hallway and disappearing into the mammoth castle. As she left, Draco couldn't stop himself from thinking that any side with her on it, even if Potter, Weasley, and Granger were on it too, might be worth it. And with that thought in his head, Draco stepped into the hall himself, blanket still around his shoulders.

He stopped to check his pocket watch before entering his commons, making sure that it was late enough that the commons would be devoid of life. And as he fell asleep, all of his thoughts were on the girl. He'd have to learn her name before he saw her again. She was, after all, the greatest draw to Potter's side.

**A/N: I was planning to have Draco less OOC than it turned out. I actually wanted to do it in more of a which side, not a should I go to the light side, but whatever. I liked this. Please Review. Reviews get invisible Cupcakes! (p.s. Invisible cupcake not included.)**


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